Tuesday, January 02, 2007

THE AFTERMATH OF CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR

I like Christmas, no strike that, I LOVE Christmas but I'm glad it only comes once a year. Every year I promise myself to make it simple and tidy and every tear it ends up being big, complicated, unpredictable, sloppy and sentimental.

The tree we got was big again. I can't see getting a small tree. A tree needs to be noble and awe-inspiring. It should never fit comfortably into the room it's intended for. Putting it up should be
difficult, the branches should knock over and break fragile knickknacks on shelves all over the room. There should be fights about how to fit the giant stump into the stand.
I like decorating a tree with a mixture of multi-colored and white lights. I like balls of many colors and lots of happy little toy and angel ornaments. When my kids were little they used to decorate by putting ornaments only on the branches they could reach so that the tree looked naked except for a kazillion balls on the bottom. They were really proud of their work and would frequently stand back and look at it, struggling to hold back a tear, they were so overcome with the profundity of it all. After everyone had gone to sleep everybody in the family would, one after the other, sneak into the living room and re-arrange the balls to suit their own tastes. I can't tell you how many fights this caused..and still causes, even now. I miss the kind of Christmas tree that was a simple, fragrent pine with lots of space between the branches. They looked a bit scraggley but you could hang tinsel and ornaments on them and they would hang straight down. Todays trees are more like round bushes that are cut into cone shapes with a chain saw. They're nice and plush...too plush! Nothing put on them ever hangs down. Ornaments just sort of lie on the branches. I have to admit that they look good though.

I made only one major blunder this year. My son lives in New York City now and he could only spend a week with us over the holiday. I was looking forward to doing all sorts of things with him but none of them materialized because he spent most of his time visiting his old school buddies. I was so disappointed at what I considered a snub that I half snubbed him when it came time to bundle him off on the plane back to NY. After the plane took off I felt horrible in the extreme! I should have learned my lesson from earlier years: never, I mean never, snub anybody over the Christmas holiday, even if they deserve it! We have the whole rest of the year for snubs. Snubs defeat the whole purpose of Christmas and make the snuber feel miserable. I think I'll call my kid when I finish writing this.
In spite of this I had a great Christmas and I hope you did too!

24 comments:

Amir Avni said...

Happy 2007 Eddie, and LOL where did you find that picture of the bear??

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year Uncle Eddie! I hope that phone call went well. It's awful to let unintended family hurts fester.

Anonymous said...

hapy new year Eddie! it was great seeing you and meeting your wife over the holidays. have a great 2007!

Kali Fontecchio said...

That sure was a big tree- I never saw one in someone's house that was so wide.

Anonymous said...

Eddie, next year try getting a Noble Fir instead of a Douglas Fir. There's more negative space between the branches for ornaments. My Christmas tree problem involves our aging cat, Tabby, who loves climbing up into the tree and refusing to come down, except to eat. She has done this since she was a kitten and she's now fourteen. Tabby believes that the tree is an annual offering meant for her and she's always visibly upset to see it leave.

You've built a great, entertaining blog here and I hope that you indeed get one of your projects going in 2007. Happy New Year!

Tom Minton

Jenny Lerew said...

Jesus Christ, Tom Minton! Tabby is still alive? Yippee! So is her brother(my favorite cat of all time)! I should post a picture of Henry. Man!

I've often thought of Tabby and still have a picture of her you gave me about 12 years ago; those kittens of Sherri's had great genes!

Jenny Lerew said...

...and I second the Noble fir suggestion; they do have separated branches.

You should post a picture of your tree, Eddie, if it was so marvelous.

Anonymous said...

Okay, because he brought it up & I just have to: here's Tom's cat's brother: Henry
-Jenny

Jennifer said...

Happy New Year, Uncle Eddie! I bet your phone call went well. I don't think your son meant any harm.

Did you give your wife a present that she liked?

Stephen Worth said...

If you can't snub your own flesh and blood, who CAN you snub?!

See ya
Steve

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year Eddie.

Everyone I know wishes they could do more with their family during Christmas. For example, every year my dad and I talk about ice fishing during Christmas but this plan usually fails to materialize.

Ryan Khatam said...

hahah thats a funny polar bear picture

Ken Mitchroney said...

Merry Christmas ya swine. Best from me and the Redhead. Keep up the fine work this year in the name of all that is art and comedy.

Ken Mitchroney said...

Happy New Year ya swine! Best from me and the Redhead. Keep up the good work this year in the name of all that is Art and Comedy.

david said...

happy new year eddie! the polar bear picture is my favorite. don't sweat the xmas stuff, it's all over now.

Anonymous said...

Yes, trees must not be 'pencil sharpened.' They must be chopped down and far too big, and mildly scraggly and tacky, and you must hang alot of special homemade/sentimental decorations on them! That's what makes them unique and personal as opposed to aesthetic, but empty.

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Toonamir: I had the bear in my picture file for a while. I can't remember where I got it.

Ken: Hey Ken! How are you!? Hope you had a good Christmas!!

Jennifer: I got my wife a quilt. It's a one-of-a-kind pattern that radiates craftsmanship and good vibes. At the moment she neither likes it nor dislikes it but I have a feeling it'll grow on her.

Steve: 'Hope you're feeling better now! The ASIFA site is stupendous! I spent a couple of hours over the weekend drooling over your collection of old illustrators. Beautiful stuff!

Tom: You painted a GREAT image of your cat in the tree! There's bound to be a way to use that. Thanks for the tip about the Noble Fir!

Randi Gordon said...

josh said:

and you must hang alot of special homemade/sentimental decorations on them!


Most definitely! My mother's yearly tradition of burning at least one item meant for Christmas dinner led to the creation of our favorite ornament of all time, the Burned Actual Biscuit, laminated for posterity and hung with the original string used to tie the turkey.

Happy New Year, Eddie, and fellow Theory Disciples!

Jenny Lerew said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I think Eddie meant a word painting, Jenny. I'll attempt to get an actual photo of Tabby to post here, as soon as she pokes her head out of the branches enough to show up on film. Tabby and Henry still bear a strong resemblance, even in their feline dotage.

Tom Minton

P.S. Hello, Ken Mitchrony! Haven't heard from you since about 1990.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Tom!
"word painting", eh? I see now you are right...Eddie waxing with the poeticism, hmm? Alrighty then.

"Feline dotage"-! Tom, you are a genius. As I've always thought...you are quite famous here at DW, btw. And I would die to see a painted painting of Tabby from yo--but a photo will more than suffice. Thankee!
-Jenny

Anonymous said...

Tabby
abdicated her Christmas tree perch today and was found here, under the bed.

Tom Minton

Jenny Lerew said...

Gee, Tom, thanks a million! My husband & I are marveling at the resemblance. That's a real treat to see her. Your daughters were just little girls when you got her...*sigh*
And Eddie-thanks for letting the discourse diverge on your comment page. : )

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Jenny: My pleasure. Happy to be of service!